Peanuts Gallery facts for kids

Peanuts Gallery is a special piece of music called a piano concerto. It was written by an American composer named Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. This music was inspired by the famous characters from the comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Charles M. Schulz were good friends.

The music was asked for by the Carnegie Hall Corporation for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. It was first played by the pianist Albert Kim and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. This happened at Carnegie Hall on March 22, 1997. Zwilich dedicated the music to Schulz. She hoped it would bring him joy, just as his Peanuts characters had brought joy to everyone.

How the Music Was Made

Charles M. Schulz first learned about Ellen Taaffe Zwilich in 1990. He saw a story about her on a TV show called The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. Later that year, Schulz included Zwilich in a Peanuts comic strip. In the comic, Peppermint Patty and Marcie go to a concert. Marcie tells Patty that the music, a flute concerto, is by Ellen Zwilich. She also points out that Zwilich "happens to be a woman."

Zwilich then got in touch with Schulz to thank him. They became friends. So, when Carnegie Hall asked Zwilich to write music for children, she had an idea. She asked Schulz if she could create a piece based on his Peanuts characters. Schulz was very excited about the idea and agreed right away.

Just six days before Peanuts Gallery was first performed, Schulz put Zwilich in another comic. In this comic, Schroeder tells Lucy about the new music. He says, "we're all in it" and names each part of the music. Lucy looks at the music sheet and simply says, "My part should be longer."

A TV show on PBS later showed how Peanuts Gallery was created. This show included rare interviews with Charles M. Schulz, his wife Jean Schulz, and the composer herself.

What the Music Is Like

This musical piece, a piano concerto, lasts about 13 minutes. A concerto is a piece of music where one instrument, in this case, the piano, plays a special solo part with an orchestra.

The music is written for several instruments. These include a flute, two oboes, two clarinets, and two bassoons. It also uses two horns, percussion instruments, and strings. Of course, the solo piano is also a very important part.

The concerto has six different parts, called movements. Each movement is inspired by a different Peanuts character:

• Schroeder's Beethoven Fantasy
• Lullaby for Linus
• Snoopy Does the Samba
• Charlie Brown's Lament
• Lucy Freaks Out
• Peppermint Patty and Marcie Lead the Parade

Recordings

You can listen to a recording of Peanuts Gallery. It was performed by Jeffrey Biegel on piano and the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra. Alexander Jiménez conducted the orchestra. This recording was released in September 2010. It was part of an album that also included Zwilich's Images and Millennium Fantasy. The album was released by Naxos Records.